Talk:Iran (Rise of the Moderns)
Persia, named Iran to its inhabitants, has had a past as heavily filligreed as much as it has been checquered. To this day, most laymen are only familiar with the contemporary quasi-religious government, and the puritanical laws it imposes on its subjects. Fewer, still, are more acquainted with the many great contributions that the Persian race has made to the rest of the world. Indeed, Western arrogance often forgets that it was the Persians who introduced many luxuries that many take for granted - heavy cavalry and mediaeval chivalry, the use of domes and arches in architecture, as well as various exotic crops such as peaches and spinach all owe their existence to the hard work of the Persians, now known as Iranians today. For most of This empire, through its central location between Europe and Asia, and attempts at creating a modern military and society, would achieve hegemony over not only present-day Iran (rougly around 1511 AD) but over Iraq, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia as well, but would collapse due to a variety of pressures, giving rise to the Afsharids and the Zands in the 18th century who would then give way to the Qajars towards the 19th century. Early modern history The Safavids represented the first truly native empire to rule the Iranian heartland after almost a millenium of foreign domination by Arab and Turkic rulers since the fall of the Sassanians. The Safavids originally hailed from Azerbaijan, and spoke both Turkic Azeri - a Turkic language - and Persian. In contrast to previous Muslim dynasties in the region, the Safavids were Shiites and (ominously) legitimised their authority by claiming descent from the Prophet. Its scion, Ismail I inherited his father's holdings and relying on horse-riding nomads inspired by religion, united the petty Iranian city-states under his rule by 1510. These fierce warriors, known for collecting the ears of their foes as trophies, were soon supplemented with the latest weapons in later generations: musketeers and artillery, forming the first modern army in Iran. Ismail would be succeeded by his own son, Tahmasp, under whose reign Iran was to enjoy renewed prosperity and cultural influence. It was under Tahmasp's rule that contacts would be established with the Mughals in India when its prince, Humayun, sought refuge in Iran after a coup at hole. When he returned to India, Humayun left with a number of Persian retainers. It was this contact with Safavid Iran that would eventually give rise to Mughal culture and architecture in India. Despite the general appearance of wealth, power and security, the Safavid court was weak and fractured. Shahs were often weak rulers who came under the power of their ministers, which often resulted in court intrigues and corruption - men such as Tahmasp and his equally industrious grandson Abbas were exceptions to the rule! Additionally, the prolific output of New Spain's mineral wealth also resulted in inflation for nations which still depended on precious metals as a currency, and Iran was not spared. Thus, by the mid-18th century, the Persian empire was poised on collapse. The Afghan provinces declared independence as the Hotaki empire in 1709, while a military officer named Nader Afshar eventually usurped the Peacock Throne in 1736, crowning himself as Nader Shah of the Afsharids and then proceeding to putting the House of Ismail to the sword. Nader Shah would prove to be the last greatest conqueror in the world well until Napoleon, and expanded his empire from Iran all the way to Delhi. While he was a gifted tactician, Nader Shah was like Tamerlane (who was his own personal hero) a poor administrator and soon his own empire would collapse. general, Karim Khan Zand, would defect from Afsharid service, take Isfahan and establish the Zand dynasty by 1760. The new dynasty was even more ephemeral than the Safavids, lasting only a tenth as long, and was supplanted by the Qajars in 1794. The Qajars would re-assert Persian supremacy over the Caucasus, yet were neither as prosperous as the Safavids nor did they enjoy any power or expansion as the Afsharids under Nader Shah did. Instead, the Qajar dynasty would be known as an era of political infighting and backwardness, with the erstwhile religious aristocracy blocking the way to modernisation. Various foreign powers would also interfere with politics, while the Russian army would repeatedly harass Iran in 1804 and again in 1826. Modern Iran The First World War marked the end of the Qajars. Already economically decrepit, politically instable and with virtually no prestige left, further humiliation by being pre-emptively occupied by the Entente soon led to a palace coup in 1925 to replace Ahmad Shah, the last Qajar ruler, with Reza Pahlavi, a military officer. Ahmad Shah never set foot in Iran again and died in 1930. while the Pahlavis would rule Iran until they were toppled in the Revolution of 1979.